Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Bride Flees in Expensive Car Right After Court Marriage; Farmer’s Son Falls Victim to Wedding Scam

A shocking case has come to light in the city where a bride ran away midway after a marriage with a prospective groom. The incident involves the son of a farmer from Nashik district, whose marriage was arranged through an acquaintance of the bride’s aunt. The accused allegedly took valuables worth ₹3.86 lakh, including cash and gold ornaments, from the groom’s family. The bride, who left from court after the marriage proceedings, fled in an expensive car on the way home on September 24. Based on the complaint, the CIDCO Police registered a case against three women on October 18, as confirmed by Senior Police Inspector Atul Yerme.

Three Women Booked in the Case

The accused have been identified as Jyoti Raju Gaikwad (alias Jyoti Misal, resident of Harshnagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Maya Madhukar Shinde, and Savita Madhukar Shinde (residents of Dusarbid, Sindkhedraja taluka, Buldhana district). The complainant, a farmer from Sinnar taluka in Nashik, lives with his wife and two children and earns a livelihood through farming. They were seeking a suitable match for their son, Mahesh (name changed), when a woman who worked on their farm suggested a girl she knew. After seeing the girl’s photo and biodata, the family liked her and were given the contact of her supposed aunt — accused Jyoti Gaikwad — to proceed further.

The Fake Marriage Setup

On September 23, the complainant, his son Mahesh, and other family members went to Jyoti’s house in the CIDCO N-6 area. There, Jyoti, Rekha Misal, and the bride, Maya, were present. The accused claimed that the bride’s father had died three years earlier and her mother was undergoing hospital treatment. After meeting the girl and her family, the groom’s family agreed to the match. The accused demanded ₹1.8 lakh, citing the mother’s medical expenses and jewelry requirements. They decided to perform a court marriage and asked for ₹5,000 to be sent to a lawyer. In total, the groom’s family paid ₹3.86 lakh — ₹1 lakh in cash, ₹30,000 via phone transfer, ₹50,000 through a friend, and ₹1.79 lakh worth of gold jewelry. An additional ₹10,000 was spent on clothes and gifts.

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Bride Escapes in a White Scorpio

On September 24 morning, all parties gathered outside the District Court for the court marriage. A lawyer named Talwar took the documents of both parties and collected ₹12,000 as fees. After the formalities, the family started their journey back home with the bride. When they stopped at a roadside hotel for tea on the outskirts of the city, a white, numberless Scorpio car suddenly arrived. The bride, Maya Shinde, reportedly got into the car and fled the spot immediately, as mentioned in the complaint.

Farmer Delayed Complaint Due to Fear of Shame

Initially, the farmer’s family refrained from filing a complaint due to fear of social humiliation. However, a few days later, they learned that a gang had been arrested in Kopargaon (Ahmednagar district) for defrauding people under the pretext of marriage. The complainant then visited Kopargaon with a relative and identified the same women involved in his son’s case. Subsequently, he approached the CIDCO Police Station in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and filed a complaint with PSI Atul Yerme, leading to the registration of an FIR.